CNBC: Danish shipping giant Maersk said one of its commercial vessels successfully transited through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz under U.S. military protection.
The Alliance Fairfax, a U.S.-flagged ship operated by Farrell Lines, a subsidiary of Maersk Line Limited (MLL), completed the journey without incident on Monday, the company said in a statement, with all crew members safe and unharmed.
The ship had been stranded at sea since the U.S. and Israeli-led war against Iran broke out on Feb. 28, Maersk said.
It comes as the U.S. Navy seeks to deliver on President Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” initiative, a plan to free ships that have been stranded by Iran’s closure of the strait, a narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Typically, about 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz, but shipping traffic has virtually halted since the war began.
U.S. Central Command said via social media on Monday that two U.S.-flagged merchant vessels had successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers were currently operating in the region.
A fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appeared to be close to unraveling on Tuesday after Iranian drones and missiles hit the United Arab Emirates, while Washington said it had sunk Iranian vessels in the strait.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump warned that Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it targeted U.S. ships safeguarding commercial traffic through the strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on social media that recent events in the strait “make clear that there’s no military solution to a political crisis.”
He added: “As talks are making progress with Pakistan’s gracious effort, the U.S. should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire by ill-wishers. So should the UAE. Project Freedom is Project Deadlock.”
Maersk, widely regarded as a barometer of global trade, is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings on Thursday.
